Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Who you are: organized, articulate and determined. Clever, literate, funny, discreet, cool, organized and ambitious. And did I mention organized?

You're devoted to the great stories, and love television and movies. Possibly you want to be a director or producer, but probably, God help you, you want to be a writer. You might be a Mac person. You'd like some exposure to showbiz, and you're willing to pay your dues.

The job is whatever you make it, but here are some of the things I've asked my interns to do:

Scour the Net for interesting quotations for my book, especially interviews with screenwriters.

Figure out what's the best mobile phone I can get free from Fido.

Write to websites suggesting link exchanges.

Track down screenwriters' publicists or assistants and try to get an interview set up.

Find a good local venue for a showbiz get together (and get invited too).

Read the stuff I'm writing and give candid notes.

Read SF books and see if they're worth adapting. (Gee, this is a tough job sometimes.)

Find the best cheap personal copier.

Get an answer out of the tangle of bureaucracy that is the ACTRA Health Plan.

Enter a bunch of numbers into my cell phone.

Help brainstorm story ideas.

Mostly it's calling and tracking down and emailing and surfing. Mostly you don't have to come in to an office and can work on your own time.

The benefits of working for me for free include:

an inside look at the motion picture and television industry

meeting writers, producers and directors

a credit on your resume (or college credit, if you can set that up)

yes, after you've been working for me for a bit I will look at some of your stuff.

The unpaid job could turn into a paid job down the road, and if you prove yourself, I’ll also recommend you for any assistant positions I learn about, even if that would mean losing you as an intern.

If you're interested in an intern position here in Montreal, please email me a personable letter with a resume as an attached PDF. You may also answer as many of the following questions as you feel like:

How has TV drama changed overall over the past thirty years?

Who wears the third ring?

What's the earliest science fiction story? Why?

Where can I rent a small motorboat to tool around the St. Laurence River?

Où sont les neiges d'antan?

Do not post to the comments section. You should be able to locate my eddress without much trouble.